BEST PLAYER: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Otto Porter Jr. (pictured) of Georgetown is the best small forward he ever has seen in the Big East. ’Nuff said?

UNSUNG PLAYER: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State’s 6-foot-4 senior guard, can fill it up — he scored 53 in a game last month, going 17-of-28 from the floor, 9-of-14 on 3s and 10-of-11 from the line.

BEST SECOND-ROUND MATCHUP: No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Villanova: Amazing that a Villanova team that lost to Columbia has a chance to post one of its biggest NCAA Tournament wins since the 1985 title run.

SECOND-ROUND UPSET WATCH: No. 11 Minnesota beat Indiana and is very athletic. No. 6 UCLA lost Jordan Adams to a broken foot in the Pac-12 tourney.

BRACKET BUSTER: No. 14 Northwestern State, the nation’s highest-scoring team, takes aim at No. 3 Florida, which ranks third in scoring defense, and the rest of the region.

SHOOTER’S TOUCH: Eight Northwestern State players, led by DeQuan Hicks, have gotten up at least 124 shots. They are first in the nation at 82.4 points and they do it on 46.2 shooting

DEFENSE WINS: No. 5 VCU leads the nation in steals (11.8) and its helter-skelter style can unnerve any team.

CHAMPION: In a region dominated by defense, a team with a precision offense and Kemba Walker-like player who can carry the load in point guard Trey Burke has an advantage. That’s Michigan.